The Writer's Trust of Canada announced the winner of the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award, which highlights the talents of emerging Canadian writers under the age of 35, who have yet to be published in book form. The award, which also celebrated its 20th anniversary, was presented at an event at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music hosted by novelist and poet Michael Crummey, who won the inaugural prize in 1994.

Erin Frances Fisher, a 31-year-old from Victoria, B.C., is the 2014 winner of the $5,000 prize for her short story "Girl." The jury, comprised of writers Michelle Berry, Diane Schoemperlen and Tanis Rideout, said "Girl" is "a visceral tale guaranteed to make you shiver, [it] reminds us of the truth that humans are more than blood and bone."

Erin's work has been published in Riddle Fence, Little Fiction, and Granta and she has previously won PRISM International’s fiction contest and The Malahat Review’s Open Season Award. She holds a BFA in writing and an MFA in fiction from the University of Victoria. Fisher is also a trained pianist who teaches at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Two finalists received a $1,000 prize, Leah Jane Esau for "Dream Interpretation" and Jakub Stachurski for “Screen Capture.”

The winning and nominated stories are available for free download on iBooks.

Tonight dozens of Canada's most widely-acclaimed authors will join Members of Parliament, cabinet ministers, diplomats and philanthropists at Ottawa's legendary Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel for Politics & The Pen. The annual gala raises funds for the Writers' Trust of Canada, a literary charity which supports writers across the country through a variety of programmes and initiatives.

The main event of the evening will be the announcement of the 14th annual Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, which rewards the year's finest book addressing a political subject of interest to Canadian readers. The winner of the prize will receive $25,000.